Governors

Snainton CE Primary School Governors’ Statement of General Principles with Regard to Behaviour

Rationale and Purpose

This statement has been drawn up in accordance with the Education and Inspections Act, 2006and DfE guidance (Behaviour and Discipline in Schools, 2012).The purpose of this statement is to provide guidance for the headteacher in drawing up theschool’s behaviour policy so that it reflects the shared aspirations and beliefs of governors,staff and parents for the children in school as well as taking full account of law and guidance onbehaviour matters. It is intended to help all school staff to be aware of and understand theextent of their powers in respect of discipline and sanctions and how to use them. Staff shouldbe confident that they have the Governors’ support when following this guidance.

This is a statement of principles, not practice; it is the responsibility of the Headteacher to draw up the school’s behaviour policy, though she must take account of these principles when formulating this. The Headteacher is also asked to take account of the guidance in DfE publication Behaviour and Discipline in Schools: a guide for headteachers and staff.

The school behaviour policy must be publicised, in writing, to staff, parents/carers and children at least once a year.

The Governing Body of Snainton CE Primary School believe that high standards of behaviour lie at the heart of a successful school and enables pupils to make good progress and enables staff to teach and promote learning without interruption.

All children and staff have the right to feel safe at all times in school. There should be mutual respect between staff and children and between each other. All visitors to the school should feel safe and free from the effects of poor behaviour at all times and in all parts of the school.

Snainton CE Primary is an inclusive school. All members of the school community should be free from discrimination of any sort (as laid down in the Equality Act 2010). To this end the school must have a clear and comprehensive Anti Bullying Policy that is known and understood by all, consistently applied, monitored and where appropriate, incidents recorded. Measures to protect children from bullying and discrimination as a result of gender, race, ability, sexual orientation or background should be clearly set out and regularly monitored for their effective implementation.

The school’s legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 in respect of safeguarding, students with Special Educational Needs and all vulnerable students should be set out in the Behaviour Policy and made known to all staff.

Parents / carers should be encouraged and helped to support their children’s education, just as the children should be helped to understand their responsibilities during their time at school, in the local community and in preparation for their life after school. The responsibilities of children, parents / carers and all school staff with respect to children’s behaviour must be outlined in the Home School Agreement which children, parent / carers and teachers must be asked to sign when a pupil joins the school.

The School Rules should be clearly stated in the Behaviour Policy. These should set out expected standards of behaviour , should be displayed in all classrooms and other, relevant parts of the school and shared with and explained to all children. The governors expect the rules to be consistently applied by all staff and regularly monitored for their effectiveness.

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Governors would like to see a wide range of rewards, consistently and fairly applied in such a way as to encourage and reward good behaviour in the classroom and elsewhere. These should be made clear in the Behaviour Policy and regularly monitored for their consistent, fair application and effectiveness.

· Sanctions for unacceptable / poor behaviour should be known and understood by all staff and children and consistently applied. The full range of sanctions should be clearly described in the Behaviour Policy so that children, staff and parents can understand how and when they are applied. The Governors strongly feel that exclusions, particularly those that are permanent, must be used only as a very last resort. ‘Unofficial’ exclusions are illegal and so must be avoided. The Headteacher may inform the police, as appropriate, if there is evidence of a criminal act or if she fears that one may take place. Sanctions should be monitored for their proper use and effective impact.

· The Behaviour Policy should set out the disciplinary action that will be taken against students who are found to have made malicious accusations against school staff. Governors expect the Headteacher to draw on the advice in Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and other staff guidance documents when setting out the pastoral support that school staff should expect to receive if they are accused of misusing their powers. Staff so accused should not be automatically suspended pending an investigation. ·

The Governors expect the Headteacher to include the following in some detail in the Behaviour Policy:

o The power to use reasonable force or make other physical contact: the situations in which reasonable force may be used (including removing disruptive pupils from classrooms or preventing them from leaving) should be stated. A definition of reasonable force should be included, which would also explain how and when children may be restrained. Governors would expect all staff to be trained in the use of reasonable force and restraint.

o The power to discipline outside the school gates: disciplining beyond the school gates covers the schools response to all non-criminal bad behaviour and bullying that occurs anywhere off the school premises. The governors must be satisfied, in all situations arising, that the measures proposed by the Headteacher are lawful and that staff and children know that sanctions can be applied in these circumstances.

Review

This statement of Principles will be reviewed every 2 years or as necessary. The school Behaviour Management Policy will be reviewed and shared with Governors annually.